Gilberto proves value to Gunners

HAVING spent just £6.6m in the summer, less than one-quarter of the £30m fee for Rio Ferdinand, Arsene Wenger is watching his shrewd investments spiral in value by the week.

The Arsenal boss has again proved how astute he is in the transfer market with the purchases of Gilberto Silva and Pascal Cygan.

Gilberto may have been a World Cup winner but he was still signed for just £4.5m from his native Brazil, while Cygan arrived with Champions League experience from Lille for only £2.1m.

Neither were household names in this country but both have since settled into the Arsenal line-up far quicker than most other overseas players ever manage.

The benefits to the Gunners were plain to see in their 1-0 win at Auxerre, with Gilberto scoring the only goal of the game - his third of the season - and Cygan in commanding form at the back in the absence of Martin Keown.

Not since Emmanuel Petit left have Arsenal had an established central midfield partner for Patrick Vieira, but the signs are already promising that Gilberto could fit the bill.

Vieira declared: ‘‘He’s a really intelligent player. He’s not a spectacular player but he’s working really hard for the team and he can score goals.

“He gives us an extra dimension and you never see him panic when he gets the ball.

“The partnership between the two of us is very good, although it was also good when I was playing with Edu and Ray Parlour.

“The speed at which he’s adapted is absolutely fantastic though.

“It shows he’s a World Cup winner and every player around him is helping him to settle in properly. We enjoy having him in the team.’’

His fellow Brazilian, Edu, has been the main settling influence for Gilberto over the past couple of months, offering him help to adapt to England as much as English football.

Edu, who took a whole season to find his feet amid injury problems, revealed: ‘‘I’ve helped him with everything. We both speak Portuguese and sometimes we go out together.

“Gilberto has not found anything too strange yet. He is very quiet and reserved. He is not always trying to do different things.

“I think he’s adapted so well because he’s a very experienced guy. He’s 26 and he has played in the World Cup final. He knows everything about football as he’s so intelligent.

While Gilberto is giving Arsenal extra midfield drive, Cygan has seamlessly stepped into the breach in defence following Keown’s torn hamstring.

Defensive partner Sol Campbell observed: ‘‘Pascal is new here so everyone has given him a helping hand and he is playing well. It’s nice that whoever comes in performs well and that is the sign of a good team.’’

Cygan impressed in the Champions League last season against Manchester United, but Wenger still managed to capture him for a knockdown price, even for an uncapped 28-year-old.

“Arsene always tries to get people no-one knows. It seems it does work quite a lot so you have to give him credit to him for that,’’ said Thierry Henry.

Henry was also a great buy at £10.5m. Further examples are Fredrik Ljungberg (£3m), Vieira (£3.5m) and Robert Pires (£6m).